Here's a very spooky Halloween Sampler I stitched last year, and my letter for this year is D! Now please hop on to http://chaosatlanta.blogspot.
Monday, 31 October 2016
Halloween Blog Hop!
Since I don't really celebrate and no kids have stoped by today, I almost forgot it, but as Jo has kindly reminded me, of course it is Halloween today, which means it is also time for her very spooky blog hop!
Here's a very spooky Halloween Sampler I stitched last year, and my letter for this year is D! Now please hop on to http://chaosatlanta.blogspot.
Here's a very spooky Halloween Sampler I stitched last year, and my letter for this year is D! Now please hop on to http://chaosatlanta.blogspot.
Tuesday, 25 October 2016
October WIPocalypse
Hello my lovelies! I'm a bit late for this month's WIPocalypse, but I am also bringing presents...well, pretty pictures of pretty stuff, at least! I've been busy as ever, but now we have two weeks off work and we fully intend to enjoy those, and with the weather being gray and wet as it is, enjoying also means a lot of crafting time for me. But first, onto the topic of october: What online stitching communities do you enjoy? Online stitching communities started with the Stitching Pirates group on deviantArt for me, then came blogging, then a few groups on facebook (and also, not for stitching, but for knitting and crochet, ravelry). Apart from blogging, though, I'm more of a passive member, I occasionaly update on dA (sorry Carla, I promise to try and be better!), but I hardly post my stuff on facebook...I do enjoy reading along and looking at other people's pretty work, though! Online communities are pretty much the only way for me to chat about these kind of hobbies, as I hardly know any stitchers in real life.
Now for my progress in the last...has it been two weeks already? First, I finished page 4 of the Fire and Ember SAL. I thin this page looks really really awesome, I can't stop looking at it, and I even managed to get ist pretty well on the picture:
Next, I worked on the October installment of Magical's monthly ornaments. Here is pink opal - I really enjoyed working on this one, especially with the light pink. It's a colour I don't use often, but I think it's really pretty!
Then, to get back to my list, I knitted up the second pair of baby booties. I don't think you can see in the picture, but I did those a bit different, I think I read the pattern wrong in one point for the first pair. Doesn't look much different, but a lot easier to make! Also, I used the same yarn as for the others, since the leftover of a jacket was just barely enough, and my leftovers all weigh in differently, so...I didn't want to risk running out. And I still had a full ball of this orange/green yarn.
Lastly, I got the threads for my next project, which will be LotR-themed and mostly text, colours on black...so I played around a bit and ordered this wonderful colours of Nina's hand dyed floss from Hungary. Can't wait to get going with this <3
Now for my progress in the last...has it been two weeks already? First, I finished page 4 of the Fire and Ember SAL. I thin this page looks really really awesome, I can't stop looking at it, and I even managed to get ist pretty well on the picture:
Next, I worked on the October installment of Magical's monthly ornaments. Here is pink opal - I really enjoyed working on this one, especially with the light pink. It's a colour I don't use often, but I think it's really pretty!
Then, to get back to my list, I knitted up the second pair of baby booties. I don't think you can see in the picture, but I did those a bit different, I think I read the pattern wrong in one point for the first pair. Doesn't look much different, but a lot easier to make! Also, I used the same yarn as for the others, since the leftover of a jacket was just barely enough, and my leftovers all weigh in differently, so...I didn't want to risk running out. And I still had a full ball of this orange/green yarn.
Lastly, I got the threads for my next project, which will be LotR-themed and mostly text, colours on black...so I played around a bit and ordered this wonderful colours of Nina's hand dyed floss from Hungary. Can't wait to get going with this <3
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
October Gifted Gorgeousness
Oh boy, has it really been another month already? I still have soo much to get done for Christmas and the time around it; why do I fall into this trap again every year? That's right, because I'm loving it, but I still get a bit of ranting time, right? Right? Anyways, let's have a look at what I've been working on lately.
Last week, I was focusing on getting that first of four hats done I was working on. It's still missing the pompom, which I will be adding once I have both hats of the same colour scheme done (so I can just use the left over yarn), but I am happy to report that it fits my head perfectly, and I can go from here to see how I need to adjust size for the other four. I also love knitting with this yarn, it's a really soft pure merino wool, although knitting with four balls at once (since you take the yarn double) gets a bit messy at times.
Then over the weekend, I tried my hands on my very first pait of baby booties. I found a lovely pattern on ravelry that was a real joy to make, and I was even able to use left over yarn from my baby jackets - I was playing extreme yarn chicken in the end, but it was *just* enough*. I'm not so sure about the size, though; this is supposed to be the new born size, and even though I think I'm knitting pretty tight already, it feels more like a 3 month size. Not too mad about it though, they will grow into these!
These weren't on my list before, I just found out a bit ago that yet another guy from work is going to be a father soon - in fact, this month, so I had to whip something up quickly!
Not on my list, but 'just for fun' (not that stuff on the list isn't fun as well!) I also continued working on the current page of the Fire and Ember SAL and got two and a half colours done now. Not very much left to fill in!
Now, the list...let's look at the current progress!
Last week, I was focusing on getting that first of four hats done I was working on. It's still missing the pompom, which I will be adding once I have both hats of the same colour scheme done (so I can just use the left over yarn), but I am happy to report that it fits my head perfectly, and I can go from here to see how I need to adjust size for the other four. I also love knitting with this yarn, it's a really soft pure merino wool, although knitting with four balls at once (since you take the yarn double) gets a bit messy at times.
Then over the weekend, I tried my hands on my very first pait of baby booties. I found a lovely pattern on ravelry that was a real joy to make, and I was even able to use left over yarn from my baby jackets - I was playing extreme yarn chicken in the end, but it was *just* enough*. I'm not so sure about the size, though; this is supposed to be the new born size, and even though I think I'm knitting pretty tight already, it feels more like a 3 month size. Not too mad about it though, they will grow into these!
These weren't on my list before, I just found out a bit ago that yet another guy from work is going to be a father soon - in fact, this month, so I had to whip something up quickly!
Not on my list, but 'just for fun' (not that stuff on the list isn't fun as well!) I also continued working on the current page of the Fire and Ember SAL and got two and a half colours done now. Not very much left to fill in!
Now, the list...let's look at the current progress!
Two toddler-scarfes 'Sharky-Pie' - beginning of one is pictures in blue - as christmas presents for a friend's twinsTwoOne more small Mill Hill kits as christmas presents for friends/coworkers of ours- Shawl Lestrona for my grandma- about halfway done
- One pair of socks for Felix' dad - one sock done up to the heel
- One BSJ for a soon-to-be-a-dad coworkers of mine - due in December - halfway done
- One pair of Baby Booties and one Toddler sized purse for the kids of a friend - due in December
One pair of Baby Booties for a coworker - due in October- Two gofts for the kids of another coworker - plans are being made - due in January
- Cut Thru' Cottage as a housewarming gift for Felix sister- two more pages to go!
FourThree more hats for my grandparents, Felix and myself- Birthday Present for Felix' brother - Due in January
Saturday, 8 October 2016
Starting the month with a scare...
...and not because Halloween is approaching! After my last update, I happily went to prepare to start the next page on the Fire and Ember SAL...unfolded my fabric to move the hoop...when I saw IT!
Something no stitcher ever wants to see...that fabric is supposed to be landscape, not portrait! Stupid me has started the wrong way around, and those three pages are not even halfway the width...no way it's all going to fit. Needless to say, I was devasted, my mind went from ripping it all out, to immediatly ordering new fabric, to just dropping out of the SAL, because let's face it...I would never be able to catch up if I had to start over. But gladly, I'm not one to easyly fall into despair, because after a while and a little pep talk from both Felix and my girls, I got myself together and started to think about solutions. Clearly I was not the only stitcher to ever fall into that trap, and I remembered reading what advice people had for them - that with a fullcover design, I could probably get away with stitching to the edge and attaching another piece of fabric. I found to promising ways to do that, and I stitched little swatches for both of them.
The first try was just overlapping the two pieces and stitch over the edge - works pretty well, probably because it's aida instead of linen, but so is Fire and Ember. I think I will go with this one, but I still tried the second method, which is stitching on two seperate pieces of fabric and sewing them together. This would probably look pretty good when ironed, but with the small test piece I'd probably have burned my fingers, so I didn't. I still think I'll go with the first method, when it's time, and continue stitching as usual until then.
So, the 4th page of Fire and Ember was one of my focus pieces during the last week, and I almost finished stitching the first colour. Again, this feels like almost half the page, but it's probably a bit less. Still, nice progress for just under a week!
My second focus piece was my little Christmas Panda, and I'm happy to report the first finish of the month here! At least, a stitching and beading finish. I had a ton of fun with the beads, and those special-red beads (there are three of them) are really awesome as well. I'm putting of the finish-finish because I'm not sure how to do it...the kit came with a magnet, but I'm leaning more to finishing it as a hanging ornament. What would you prefer to receive? I'll probably wait until the second one is finished as well (a little Polar Bear), then finish both in the same way.
Since I was at a workshop and a few presentations for work this week, I also had a bit of time for knitting, and I took my newst Baby Jacket with me - made quite a bit of progress, I'm at three times as much as before now, more than halfways through and almost finished with the first skein of yarn.
Next up, more work on the Fire and Ember SAL and finishing that first hat I started knitting. See you (hopefully) soon :)
Something no stitcher ever wants to see...that fabric is supposed to be landscape, not portrait! Stupid me has started the wrong way around, and those three pages are not even halfway the width...no way it's all going to fit. Needless to say, I was devasted, my mind went from ripping it all out, to immediatly ordering new fabric, to just dropping out of the SAL, because let's face it...I would never be able to catch up if I had to start over. But gladly, I'm not one to easyly fall into despair, because after a while and a little pep talk from both Felix and my girls, I got myself together and started to think about solutions. Clearly I was not the only stitcher to ever fall into that trap, and I remembered reading what advice people had for them - that with a fullcover design, I could probably get away with stitching to the edge and attaching another piece of fabric. I found to promising ways to do that, and I stitched little swatches for both of them.
The first try was just overlapping the two pieces and stitch over the edge - works pretty well, probably because it's aida instead of linen, but so is Fire and Ember. I think I will go with this one, but I still tried the second method, which is stitching on two seperate pieces of fabric and sewing them together. This would probably look pretty good when ironed, but with the small test piece I'd probably have burned my fingers, so I didn't. I still think I'll go with the first method, when it's time, and continue stitching as usual until then.
So, the 4th page of Fire and Ember was one of my focus pieces during the last week, and I almost finished stitching the first colour. Again, this feels like almost half the page, but it's probably a bit less. Still, nice progress for just under a week!
My second focus piece was my little Christmas Panda, and I'm happy to report the first finish of the month here! At least, a stitching and beading finish. I had a ton of fun with the beads, and those special-red beads (there are three of them) are really awesome as well. I'm putting of the finish-finish because I'm not sure how to do it...the kit came with a magnet, but I'm leaning more to finishing it as a hanging ornament. What would you prefer to receive? I'll probably wait until the second one is finished as well (a little Polar Bear), then finish both in the same way.
Since I was at a workshop and a few presentations for work this week, I also had a bit of time for knitting, and I took my newst Baby Jacket with me - made quite a bit of progress, I'm at three times as much as before now, more than halfways through and almost finished with the first skein of yarn.
Next up, more work on the Fire and Ember SAL and finishing that first hat I started knitting. See you (hopefully) soon :)
Monday, 3 October 2016
A long and lazy weekend
Finally, things have started to calm down a little. We still had a busy week at work - with hope on the horizon that we can finally take out vacation time at the end of this month - but a deliciously lazy weekend with an added holiday today has really helped us to calm down and relax. In fact, we weren't even *that* lazy and got some long due shopping and chores done, but I'm still feeling much better, and had time to make some decent progress on my crafting as well!
I'm still working on way too many things at once, and I'm trying to bring that down to a quick rotation of two, at most three projects at a time. That way, I should be able to see some finishes at a reasonable rate and get through my big gift-list much faster! For the moment, I tried to get all my projects to a point where it would be easy to leave off and pick them back up when it's their turn.
First, I finished the current (7th) page of Cut Thru Cottage. This one was stitched up fairly quickly - the last two are almost fully covered, but I still think I can get this finished this year. Lots of fun as well, I'm already thinking about which of those to get next.
I also fully finished the second part of the Halloween SAL - I know I had the motif itself done the last time around, but now there is also the beginning of the border and a good part of the inner grid to be seen.
I continued workingon my little Mill Hill Christmas Panda, and finished the stitching - only the lovely beads to go now! And since I got my latest yarn order in, I could not resist a new start, the first out of four hats I'm going to make for this winter. Since I wasn't entirely sure about the gauge, I started with my own, since my head is always readyly avaiable for size testing.
Last but not least, something I could have shown you the last time around, but it still needed a finishing touch! Saturday last week I went to a 'Sew your own shirt' workshop with a coworker/friend of mine and this is the result! I am so very pleased; I was really scared to sew with that stretchy fabric and it was so much easier than I had imagined, and a lot of fun as well! If I ever get my desked straightend up, I am sure I will do some sewing again soonish.
I'm still working on way too many things at once, and I'm trying to bring that down to a quick rotation of two, at most three projects at a time. That way, I should be able to see some finishes at a reasonable rate and get through my big gift-list much faster! For the moment, I tried to get all my projects to a point where it would be easy to leave off and pick them back up when it's their turn.
First, I finished the current (7th) page of Cut Thru Cottage. This one was stitched up fairly quickly - the last two are almost fully covered, but I still think I can get this finished this year. Lots of fun as well, I'm already thinking about which of those to get next.
I also fully finished the second part of the Halloween SAL - I know I had the motif itself done the last time around, but now there is also the beginning of the border and a good part of the inner grid to be seen.
I continued workingon my little Mill Hill Christmas Panda, and finished the stitching - only the lovely beads to go now! And since I got my latest yarn order in, I could not resist a new start, the first out of four hats I'm going to make for this winter. Since I wasn't entirely sure about the gauge, I started with my own, since my head is always readyly avaiable for size testing.
Last but not least, something I could have shown you the last time around, but it still needed a finishing touch! Saturday last week I went to a 'Sew your own shirt' workshop with a coworker/friend of mine and this is the result! I am so very pleased; I was really scared to sew with that stretchy fabric and it was so much easier than I had imagined, and a lot of fun as well! If I ever get my desked straightend up, I am sure I will do some sewing again soonish.
Thursday, 29 September 2016
September WIPocalypse - Memory Lane
And yet again, it has been a few days since my last update, and I have a lot to show for it as well - still, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I'm having a very busy time at the moment - both at home (lots of fun stuff, but still busy) and at work (not so very much fun).
But first things first; for the latest WIPocalypse checkin the question is Tell us a story about the journey you took through one of your completed pieces. Now, even after almost three years of stitching and blogging, I still feel relativly new to this hobby - before that, I only stitched occasionaly, so there aren't that many stories to share from then. And even in the last three years, I need to think long and hard about something with a real story behind it...I know, I'm boring :D But I think this one will do nicely:
Angel of Frost by Teresa Wentzler
But first things first; for the latest WIPocalypse checkin the question is Tell us a story about the journey you took through one of your completed pieces. Now, even after almost three years of stitching and blogging, I still feel relativly new to this hobby - before that, I only stitched occasionaly, so there aren't that many stories to share from then. And even in the last three years, I need to think long and hard about something with a real story behind it...I know, I'm boring :D But I think this one will do nicely:
Teresa Wentzler's beautiful pattern - and Carla and Nancy gushing about her - was what first brought me into blogging here, and in meeting stitchers on the net. And while this is not the first of her designs I worked on (the first big finish, though) it still came from that first batch of books I ordered, when my grandma saw the pictures and decided she *needs* this one. So in 2014, I decided to stitch this as a Christmas present for her. I didn't really now what I was up to then - so many blended stitches, confetti, speciality stitches, beads...but boy, was it a journey! I learned so much when I was working on this - marking my pattern, pre-threading needles, even a first bit of parking, and I had a ton of fun. At first I could only work on this in my room in private, so grandma wouldn't see - but then in October of 2014, Felix and I moved in together. AoF was one of the last things I packed, and one of the first I unpacked in the new apartment - I needed to finish it! I was also working on my Master thesis at that time, but nearly all the free time I had in November and December went into this, and I just finished in the nick of time. Still one of my favourite projects ever, and by far the biggest and most complex still!
Now for my latest - albeit not as exciting - progress. On the stitching front, I mainly worked on Cut Thru' Cottage - as you can see, I am almost done with the cross stitch on page 7 - and on The Halloween SAL, where I managed to finish the second motif. I still need to stitch the corresponding section of the border, though, which I am really looking forward to.
Then you might remember that huuuge list of gifts I have planned to finish this year? Well, I have to report that I added a few more projects to that list (I know, crazy...it had to be done though!), but I also made some headway. First, I started the two toddler-sized scarves for the tein sons of a friend of ours (the pattern is calles Sharky-Pie by Martina Behm, the Yarn is Merino Superwash 150 by Lang Yarns). The first one took me about four days, the second one was finished in just one busy Sunday (busy with stuff that allowed knitting on the side!). Isn't that border lovely? I am very suprised I managed to knit both scarves out of one 50g skein, with a bit left, and they *did* turn out a bit smaller than expected - but I checked, the will (just barely) fit around my own neck without chocking me, so they should be okay for two skinny two-year-olds! I also made some progress on the socks for Felix' dad, finishing two more repeats of the basket pattern, which makes the first sock ready for the heel. The leg part is a bit longer than usual on these, but I think that is a good thing as they will also fit in nice with his traditional bavarians clothing.
Then last Sunday, I had to go on a business trip to Aachen on short notice (Actually I was supposed to be off work this week...well that didn't happen, but hopefully will soon-ish!), and as I like to combine duty and fun, I allowed myself two new starts on the way - both from me gift-list. One is the next Baby Suprise Jacket, for another coworker of mine - finally, that baby is going to be a girl, so I get to use some yarn with purple! On the train ride to Aachen, I was kind op adopted into a group of older ladies that were travelling together, and as they knitted too we got talking over stitches and had a very fun and relaxed ride, despire the train running late and all of us missing a connection (thankfully, we didn't have to wait long for the next one). I also took some stitching on this trip, and to keep things simple I just grabbed one of the Mill Hill kits I'm stitching for friends - you can probably guess, but it's going to be a cute little Panda. I hope I'll find time to finish this soon, I'm really looking forward to the beading!
And that brings us finally up to speed. The week has been very busy so far, and tomorrow will likely be no exception, but with Monday being Germany's national holiday, I have a three day weekend coming up without any plans for a change...I'm really looking forward to some quiet time after all the stress lately!
Saturday, 17 September 2016
Big Birthday Bloghop - The Years of Jo's Life - 1987
Happy Birthday, Jo! Our most favourite blog-hop-hostess is celebrating her birthday, which was today in 1966! Of course, this calls for the biggest blog hop yet, so she assigned each of us a year in her life to blog about, and the year I got was 1987.
1987 - Jo was 21. She had completed her training and was now a full fledged Documentation Technician in the Marine Hull Department of Sedgwicks Insurance Brokers. In the summer she bought her first house, a Victorian terraced cottage with the original slate roof. This roof somehow survived the famous hurricane of October 1987. The following month Jo married her boyfriend and they moved into their house together. One of the main attractions of the property was its location a mere 100 yards from the train station which allowed Jo an extra 30 minutes in bed every morning!
What an exciting year for Jo! I myself, I wasn't quite 'there' yet in 1987, so I'm going to talk about what I did when I was 21 instead. And thinking back, it was quite an exciting year for me as well, because it was the year Felix and I finally got together (which is a story for another time, but I was interested in him for quite a bit before that ;) ). I didn't really stitch much back then, but I wouldn't have had time either, because this was the year of our software lab at university, where we had to work on small groups the code a real time strategy game withing three months. Well, long story short, no everyone in out group was capable (or willing) to pull their weight, and so we often spent all night at the lab, working until four or five in the morning and resuming work no later than 9am. I don't think I'd be able to pull off something like this today, I feel seriously old now!
No, I have prepared not just one, but two stitching pictures for Jo's birthday! One I just finished yesterday, and it's Magical's birthstone ornament for September. I want to try and finish the remaining months all in the 'correct' month before the year is over.
Now, while very fitting for the date, I am not sure how much Jo loves these ornaments, so I want to also again post something I know she liked - in fact, she has stiched it herself, from the same pattern I used now! Of course, I'm talking about my Very Victorian Strawberries Sampler that I just finished last month.
Again, I want to thank Jo very much for passing this pattern along to me - especially since it has one me the first place in the Stitching Pirate's Ye Olde Sampler contest! And since this is a travel chart (I'm nor sure exactly how many stops it made before it arrived at Jo's), in honour of her birthday and in the spirit of the Gifted Gorgeousness, I'll be passing this pattern along to another loving home today. If you want to be included in the raffle, please leave a comment below stating that you're interested, and please make sure that you are not a no-reply blogger, so I can contact you in case you win!
1987 - Jo was 21. She had completed her training and was now a full fledged Documentation Technician in the Marine Hull Department of Sedgwicks Insurance Brokers. In the summer she bought her first house, a Victorian terraced cottage with the original slate roof. This roof somehow survived the famous hurricane of October 1987. The following month Jo married her boyfriend and they moved into their house together. One of the main attractions of the property was its location a mere 100 yards from the train station which allowed Jo an extra 30 minutes in bed every morning!
What an exciting year for Jo! I myself, I wasn't quite 'there' yet in 1987, so I'm going to talk about what I did when I was 21 instead. And thinking back, it was quite an exciting year for me as well, because it was the year Felix and I finally got together (which is a story for another time, but I was interested in him for quite a bit before that ;) ). I didn't really stitch much back then, but I wouldn't have had time either, because this was the year of our software lab at university, where we had to work on small groups the code a real time strategy game withing three months. Well, long story short, no everyone in out group was capable (or willing) to pull their weight, and so we often spent all night at the lab, working until four or five in the morning and resuming work no later than 9am. I don't think I'd be able to pull off something like this today, I feel seriously old now!
No, I have prepared not just one, but two stitching pictures for Jo's birthday! One I just finished yesterday, and it's Magical's birthstone ornament for September. I want to try and finish the remaining months all in the 'correct' month before the year is over.
Now, while very fitting for the date, I am not sure how much Jo loves these ornaments, so I want to also again post something I know she liked - in fact, she has stiched it herself, from the same pattern I used now! Of course, I'm talking about my Very Victorian Strawberries Sampler that I just finished last month.
Again, I want to thank Jo very much for passing this pattern along to me - especially since it has one me the first place in the Stitching Pirate's Ye Olde Sampler contest! And since this is a travel chart (I'm nor sure exactly how many stops it made before it arrived at Jo's), in honour of her birthday and in the spirit of the Gifted Gorgeousness, I'll be passing this pattern along to another loving home today. If you want to be included in the raffle, please leave a comment below stating that you're interested, and please make sure that you are not a no-reply blogger, so I can contact you in case you win!
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